Tyler Watson entered Duke University with designs on becoming a lawyer.

He never earned his degree.

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Watson chose life experiences instead. He dropped out to play esports in Korea and now is a stay-at-home father in California — with a young son, a pediatrician for a wife and a first-place medal from Disney’s Wine & Dine Half Marathon.

“I was just really happy that I didn’t mentally give up, that I kept grinding,’’ said Watson, a Tampa native. “I hadn’t won a lot of races. I think I’d only won one other race, so it was just really fun to break the tape and have that moment.’’

“I actually ran the 10K [Saturday] and won that as well,’’ Curham said. “I knew what to expect a little bit. It’s so cool seeing the tape, the characters, all the confetti.’’

Nearly 12,500 runners, dodging raindrops at times, finished the half marathon. None dodged them better than Watson, who said another runner kept pace with him for the first four or five miles before he pulled away.

After that, it was a solo voyage to the finish.

“The guys on the bikes that were navigating the course told me that about Mile 7 or 8 that I had about a 30-second lead,’’ Watson said. “I was feeling pretty good.’’